EU starts giving out 35,500 free train passes to 18-year-olds

The European Commission just started raffling off thousands of free train passes for travel across Europe to young EU citizens. Residents of Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey are also eligible. Patrick Seeger/dpa

Are you an 18-year-old EU citizen without travel plans for the summer?

Why not try and get your hands on one of 35,500 free rail passes for travel across Europe being handed out by the European Commission?

In the latest round of the commission's DiscoverEU scheme launched on Tuesday, EU residents born between July 1, 2005 and June 30, 2006 can apply online for one of the train tickets by completing a short EU quiz.

Residents of Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey are also eligible for the application that is set to remain open until April 30.

The EU passes cover a travel period of up to 30 days between July 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025.

Participants with disabilities or health issues will receive assistance on their journeys, according to the commission.

The European Commission first launched the DiscoverEU initiative in 2018. Since then more than 1 million people have applied for a total of 248,000 available rail passes.